ISLAMABAD: A key position at the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has been filled in violation of rules, Daily Times has learnt. According to the available information, President Mamnoon Hussain, who is the QAU chancellor, approved the appointment of Dr Muhammad Ayub as the Faculty of Natural Sciences dean. The appointment is in clear violation of the seniority of Faculty of Natural Sciences faculty members. The information points out that Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf forwarded the names of three senior officials to the president according to their seniority for his final approval. The forwarded names were: Dr Azhar Abbas Rizvi, Dr Amin Bahshah and Dr Muhammad Ayub, who was the least senior. Sources said that the VC had forwarded the names of senior-most officials to the chancellor. “However, the chancellor turned down the seniority and made the appointment on his own. Earlier, only the senior-most official of a department was selected as dean,” sources said. The documents stated that the post of Natural Sciences Faculty dean had been lying vacant for the past 12 months and its affairs were being dealt by an acting dean, Dr Amin Badshah. As per QAU rules, all the deans have to be permanent faculty members. Giving acting charge to any official is a violation of rules. There are three faculties in the university: the Faculty of Natural Sciences, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Biological Sciences. Each faculty comprises many departments. Earlier, Vice Chancellor Dr Ashraf had himself also served against the post of Natural Sciences Faculty dean on additional charge. Sources said that it was very surprising to see a VC serving on the post of a dean. “Even at that time, senior faculty members were available for the slot,” sources said. “Actually the VC was not willing to appoint any of the existing senior officials on the post. That is why he served as the Natural Sciences dean. However, the president has now appointed an official by going against the wished of the VC,” said a senior official requesting anonymity. Surprisingly, VC Dr Ashraf also holds the additional charge of the MBA department director. As per rules, the senior-most associate professor or professor in the department is eligible for the post of director/chairperson. Sources revealed that there were several associate professors and professors available in the MBA department. The university seems to be running on the principle of favouritism, not merit. According to official documents available with Daily Times, the incumbent administration had appointed and promoted many of its blue-eyed officials by neglecting the prescribed criteria and rules for the respective post. Moreover, the university is also being run without a permanent registrar, deputy registrar, additional registrar and treasurer. Currently, out of 411 budgeted strength of academic positions, 154 (37%) are lying vacant in the university for past four years. According to an HEC Committee report on QAU affairs, the university has not taken any concrete steps to fill vacant positions. The report also added that the incumbent vice chancellor only supported his favourite faculty members. “Presently, the recruitment process of the university is not competitive and transparent. In many cases, only few internal candidates were shortlisted and selected. According to rules, shortlisted candidates against any position are required to appear before the Selection Board along with their academic credentials. However, it has been observed that prescribed procedure is not being followed by QAU and decisions on appointment are being made merely on the recommendations of the deans committee,” the report said. When contacted, Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf said that he had forwarded the names of three senior-most faculty members for the post of Faculty of Natural Sciences dean to the chancellor for his approval. “It was the exclusive prerogative of the chancellor to select any one of them,” he said. Published in Daily Times, November 24th 2017.